Babalola Advocates Downsizing Of Exco, Legislative Bodies

A renowned constitutional lawyer, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), has called for a reduction in the number of legislators and members of executive councils, saying it is a waste of resources.

Babalola made the call in Abuja on Tuesday in a paper entitled: “Constitutionalism, Good Governance and Development’’ at the 3rd annual public lecture organised by a legal firm, J-K Gadzama and Partners.

He said that the current number should be reduced by half.

“Of what use is over 400 representative members and a bi-cameral legislative system to the country?” he asked.

The lawyer recommended that Nigeria should have governments at the six geo-political zones, with each having its own legislature.

“The central is too strong, too attractive and unregulated,” he maintained.

He lamented that the federal system of government was too expensive for the resources available to the country.

“More than 60 per cent of the resources in the country go into the maintenance of the political structure when there is poverty and hunger at the local level,” Babalola said.

He said that only a free and fair election in Nigeria could guarantee good governance.

According to him, a government must not only be constitutional but democratic in the discharge of its duties to the governed.

Babalola regretted that the problem with the country’s current constitution was non-adherence, which led to a “political logjam’’ in the recent past.

“Good governance is about the man in power doing the right thing for the right people at the right time,” he said.

As a measure to ensure good governance in the country, he said the judiciary must be truly independent.

“The essence for the independence of the judiciary is to ensure a balance between the harmless citizens and those who wield the power,” Babalola said.

The legal luminary said that politics was a threat to justice and that the judiciary must stay away from any form of political manipulation.

He described the discovery of crude oil in Nigeria as a curse, which had destroyed productivity, initiative and development at the state level.

“Some states contribute nothing to the development of the centre but merely sit down to await the share of the oil revenue,” he stated.

Babalola also said that a sovereign national conference was the only way out of the current constitutional problem in the country.

The Chairman of the occasion and former Chief Judge of the Federation, Justice Alfa Belgore, described the Nigerian constitution as a pack of contradictions.

He said a law that kept traditional rulers in office and made them constitutionally irrelevant except when there is crisis must be revisited.

Belgore cited Malaysia as a typical role model of development and good governance that Nigeria must emulate.

He said that corruption was the most dangerous thing to the existence of Nigeria.

In his own comment, immediate past Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Adetokunbo Kayode, said the Nigerian constitution was too voluminous and must be cut down to size.

“If our aim is to have a perfect constitution, it should be done beat by beat, sector by sector instead of setting up an ad hoc committee or conference to review the constitution at a sitting,” he said.

Rep. Nkiru Onyejiocha (PDP-Abia) wielded her support for the sovereign constitutional conference not minding if it suspended the operation of the National Assembly for a moment.

According to her, such would fashion out the way forward for a modern Nigeria.